A Ring's A Fickle Thing
by Kurissyma san Tybalt
Summary: Chaos ensues when 2Dads wins the engagement ring ET bought for Nikki in a drunken bet and sells it, leaving Mike free to buy it for Kate. Can ET stop Mike's proposal without making an ass of himself? Of course not! But can he fix his foolish mistake? MK


"_Kate, is that you?"_

Nikki froze, heart pounding as the shower was turned off next-door and the captain called in to her and, in terror at being caught out, felt her breath catch in her throat.

"_Kate?" _the captain's voice was a little more cautious now, as though he were reconsidering whether or not he had heard anything at all, and she held her breath. _"Are you—?"_

"Uh, yes! It's me!" Nikki replied quickly, in as X-like a voice as she could muster as his footsteps brought him closer and closer to the door that separated them. She was relieved when he didn't seem to notice the difference, and the footsteps stopped.

"_I thought you were going to the shop."_

"I just— forgot my purse!" Nikki replied, coughing in an attempt to disguise her voice.

This too was accepted.

"_It's on the kitchen table. Don't forget milk,"_ he replied easily, and then the water was turned on again and she was safe.

Grabbing what she needed, Nikki trotted out of the room as quickly as she could and was made so anxious by the almost-discovery that she was forced to regroup for a minute outside the house just to catch her breath. When she'd calmed down a little she shoved the object she had taken into her bag and took out her cell-phone, still leaning against the outside wall of Mike's home.

"Josh? Yeah, I got it— _barely_! …Have you called the X yet? …She didn't pick up? Shit... Josh, I couldn't leave the envelope— Well, Josh, I think we'll need to get more than just Mike out of the house, because if I go in there again... No, I'm not kidding… He says she's gone down to the store— No, _no_, Josh! I didn't blow cover, don't worry! He thought I was her! …Well, he was in the shower at the time… _Yes,_ Josh, I'm _sure_! But God, it was close! Don't laugh, it was… Okay. I'll be ten min…u…tes… Josh, I'll have to call you back!"

Kate swore inwardly as Nikki glanced up and caught her eye. What was _she_ doing here? But she couldn't run away now… Steeling herself for confrontation, Kate gripped her eco-friendly shopping bags tighter in hand and marched up to the door just as Nikki shoved her cell phone back in her bag.

"Do you need a hand with something, Nav?" she asked, perhaps a little too defensively as she approached, and she couldn't fault the look of honest, blind panic on her co-worker's face. "…Nikki?"

"I—! Uh—! This is the captain's house, right?" Nikki faltered, clutching her handbag to her chest protectively.

Kate glanced down at her own shopping bags and opened her mouth apprehensively, feeling the need to explain. "I—"

"I was just—"

"The captain's sick!" Kate lied suddenly, and Nikki reeled a little at the admission.

"…What?"

"He's sick," she repeated, this time a little more calmly, breathing in deeply as she did so. "He called and asked if I could run to the store for him… Because he's sick."

"That's right!" Nikki replied instantly, latching on to Kate's excuse. "I— That's why I'm here too, but I guess he's okay if I leave him with you, so I'll just—"

Kate's face transformed from a look of mild relief to one of total bewilderment. "He called you?" she cut in, brows furrowing uncomprehendingly.

"Kate, what are you doing standing on the doorstep?" came Mike's voice suddenly, causing both of them to jump and flush deeply as the door opened, revealing Mike standing before them in nothing but a pair of faded blue jeans, still toweling his hair dry. Catching sight of Nikki he immediately brought the towel down from his head, holding it in front of his chest uncertainly.

"…Nav, good to see you," he said pleasantly, albeit awkwardly, as he threw a clueless look in Kate's direction. Then, when Kate shook her head and Nikki didn't volunteer an immediate reason for her presence he seemed to regain his himself and manners and invited them in, saying, "Just let me find a shirt…" as he disappeared through the door both Nikki and Kate knew led to his bedroom.

Entering the living room, Kate gestured to the couch uncomfortably for Nikki to sit, hoping, as she sat on the lounge across from her, that she didn't come across too much like she owned the place.

"You look well, Nikki," she said, nodding slowly. It was a downright lie, of course. Nikki looked white as a sheet and ready to bolt. Hardly her best.

"You too, ma'am."

This was twice the lie, and the two women struggled to hold each other's gaze for the half-a-minute it took Mike to return and take his place next to Kate, (of course, leaving Nikki feeling more cornered than ever, sitting across from them both.)

"How are you feeling?" asked Nikki gawkily as he fixed his attention on her. "I heard you were sick…"

Mike was clearly nonplussed. "From who—?"

"I told her," Kate said suddenly, giving him a pointed look. "I met Nikki at your door and explained to her that I was doing your shopping, since you were sick. …Actually, I should put the perishables in the fridge. Where's your kitchen, sir?"

"Oh! To the right, X," Mike directed her, understanding passing over his face. "Just leave anything that doesn't need to be refrigerated on the bench there and I'll get to it… Thanks for your concern, Nav. I haven't been feeling the best this morning, but I'm improving by the minute." He gave a little cough as if to validate his illness to her. "So, what did you need to see me about?"

Nikki glanced over at X, who could be seen shuffling around his kitchen through the open door. "Uh, well you see, sir… _ET_ called me, and said he wanted to talk to you —something about some piece of equipment that wasn't working or… something— but he couldn't get you —on the phone, I mean— so, since I was in the area, I said I'd drop in and ask— but, sir, then he called me and said everything was OK, so I really have nothing to say— _Oh_!"

Mike raised and eyebrow as Nikki dived into her bag for her phone, mumbling to herself all the while, _"Shoot, shoot, shoot…"_ Eventually she found it and sighed heavily in relief. "I'm gonna go now, sir. Gotta take this!" she exclaimed, and before Mike had had so much as a moment for what was going on to register with him she was out the door and on the phone.

"…That is the strangest I have _ever_ seen that girl," Mike muttered disbelievingly as he walked into the kitchen and up behind Kate, putting his arms around her from behind as she shuffled around in the fridge.

"She's gone?" Kate confirmed, closing the fridge door, and when he nodded she turned and collapsed back against it in relief, staring up at his smiling face bemusedly. "I have never been so embarrassed in my life. She must have figured it out… And _I_ only made it worse! …Goddammit, stop _laughing_, Mike!"

Mike only shook his head, still chuckling. "There must be something in the water you girls are drinking," he joked, leaning forward to peck her lips briefly. "Calm down. You were just being a dutiful subordinate, helping your sick boss with his shopping…"

Kate shook her head uncomprehendingly. "That was the strangest thing, sir," she admitted. "I just made that up as an excuse, but she told me you'd called _her_ to help you too, and told _her_ you were sick!"

Mike frowned at that. "That's not what she told me."

"Well, of course it's not; you never called her!" Kate sighed, bringing a hand up to her forehead as though experiencing a migraine. "It's the strangest thing…" she repeated absentmindedly.

"Forget about it," Mike replied, shaking his head dismissively. "If you're up for it, I've actually planned something for us to do today…"

Kate smiled at the hopeful look on his face and returned his short kiss. "Sure," she agreed willingly. "What's the plan?"

"Shit… Josh, it's _empty_."

ET glanced across the gearshift at Nikki, who he had just rescued from outside Mike's house. "What do you mean it's _empty?_"

Nikki breathed in deeply. "I mean there's _nothing in the box_, Josh! What do you think I mea— …_Gosh_, I'm so sorry, Josh!"

ET only sighed and shook his head bitterly. "Well, I'm sure glad you forgot to leave the $800…" he muttered, and the defeated tone of his voice immediately worked its way through Nikki's heartstrings, causing her to snap the empty ring-box shut resolutely.

"Come on, Josh. You're _sure_ the CO won't sell you back your grandmother's ring? It doesn't sound like him!"

"Hmm…"

"I mean, you were _drunk!_ And losing it to 2Dads in a game of poker was just bad luck," Nikki went on, "But when 2Dads sold it to the jeweller and the _captain_ just happened to buy it? That should have been a stroke of _good luck_ if there ever was one! He's your mate, right? Why _wouldn't_ he sell it back to you if he _knows_ how special it is?"

ET just shook his head evasively and though Nikki suspected she wasn't being told the full story, she didn't press it, knowing that he was upset enough as it was. "…So, what do you want to do, Josh? Do we just give up or do we confront him?"

At this question ET, who had apparently been driving aimlessly up until then, pulled over to the side of the road— a narrow residential street with more parking spaces empty than filled. "If it's not in the box…" he mused suddenly. "…Do you think he has it on him?"

The question surprised Nikki, who hadn't considered that. "I don't know," she admitted. "Why would he be carrying it around with him, unless…?" She locked eyes with ET uncertainly, and at her helpless shrug, he groaned.

"You don't think he could be planning to propose to the X with _my_ ring_, do you_?"

"I don't know," Nikki replied, but her true sentiments were clear beneath the uncertainty of her words. "She was doing his shopping, he opened the door to her shirtless… I mean, it seemed kind of… _domestic_, don't you think?"

ET clearly didn't want to believe it, groaning, "Did they say anything telling?"

Nikki bit her lip anxiously. "I didn't exactly stick around," she reminded him, a little defensively, and ET caught her changing tone.

"…Okay, okay, let me think," he sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the steering wheel, and shaking his head at nothing in particular as he did so. "If we followed them…"

"But then what?" Nikki cut in, "Confront him as he proposes? Listen, I know it's an important ring, but maybe you just need to be happy it's going to an good cause…?" At the look on his face, she trailed off here, adding, a little skeptically, "…Or _not_. But ET, you really do have to have some sort of diplomatic plan—"

He wasn't listening, already pulling out onto the street.

"_Jesus Christ…"_

"Where are we going?" asked Kate as Mike led her by the hand over to the front door.

He didn't immediately reply but finally commanded her to stand still, and, though uncertain, she did so, barely batting an eyelash as he blindfolded her gently from behind. "Can you see?" he asked, poking her in the side good-humouredly as he finished tying the knot.

"Not a bit," Kate replied skeptically, waving her hand around a little until he got the hint to hold it in his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm really trusting you to watch out for me, understand?"

Mike grinned and nodded as he opened the door, and then, realising that she couldn't see him, promised her aloud.

"Come on," he said cheerfully as he pulled her over the threshold. "Let's get going."

"I take it you're not going to tell me _where_ we're going," Kate mused as, following the familiar beep of Mike's car unlocking by remote, she felt herself being directed inside, with his hand on her head to guide her through the door.

The same door then closed sharply and a few seconds later the driver's side door opened and she heard Mike's laugh. "Not on your life, Kate."

"…I must admit that I'm impressed you remembered."

Mike glanced up in surprise and snuck a glance at her across the gearshift. She sat as straight as she usually did, with her blindfolded eyes set straight ahead, but a small smile edging the corners of her lips indicated her appreciation.

"How could I not?" he replied, shrugging bashfully. "Every year when I get the bulletin about that course starting I think about the summer six years ago, and tell myself what an idiot I was to let you go."

Again Kate didn't reply immediately, and when Mike turned his head this time she was chewing the outer edge of her bottom lip.

"…Kate?"

Kate coughed suddenly, and Mike saw her cheeks growing pink with emotion. "Can I take this off yet?" she eventually asked, gesturing to her blindfold, and Mike promised her that they were almost there.

Fifteen minutes later, ET pulled into the Little Bay Reserve parking lot and killed his engine, throwing a glance at Nikki, beside him, as he watched Mike open the door for Kate and lead her, blindfolded, down the path toward the water. He cringed at the uncertain look on his girlfriend's face.

"Nik—"

"Look, Josh, you _have_ to think: Do you really want to ruin this for the captain and the X?" she asked quickly, before he could say anything. "I mean, imagine if it were you!"

"Hopefully some day it will be," ET sighed, opening his door and sticking a leg out. "But I need that ring first, don't I?"

"_That _ring?" Nikki sighed skeptically, but he was already out the door and in pursuit, not even turning around to lock to car by remote. And of course, she went after him. "ET—!"

"Shh!"

They had come to a stop now, at a point in the coastal path set up as a picnic area. It was oddly deserted and Nikki found herself watching fondly as Mike led Kate over to the bench nearest the ocean and stood behind her to remove her blindfold. Beside her, ET fidgeted anxiously and she tossed him a worried look. "ET…"

"Shh!" he said again, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"Typical," Kate murmured under her breath as she glanced over the blue horizon. "Even when we're on leave, you always take me back to the sea." At Mike's awkward chuckle, she shook her head and entreated him: "So why did you bring me here?"

"Can't a man bring his girl to a beautiful place just to see her smile?" Mike asked coyly, dropping a kiss on her neck as he did so, and Kate laughed quietly in response.

"Not if he doesn't want to appear entirely suspicious."

"You think I'm going to throw you off the cliff, Kate?"

Quirking a secret smile, Kate shook her head and leaned back against him contentedly. "If that was your intention you'd hardly have removed the blindfold," she supposed, mock-seriously, and Mike continued in this vein.

"Maybe I think you deserve to have a beautiful last sight before I kill you," he suggested, but this, too, she contested.

"If that's your aim," she told him sweetly, turning in his arms to face him, "Why were you standing behind me?"

At this point, they might have kissed, had Kate not suddenly caught sight of ET in the bushes behind Mike, and Nikki not far from him, and immediately exclaimed, _"L'tenant Caetano!"_

To her credit, Nikki had the good graces to look well beyond mortified, but ET appeared in shock even as Mike whirled around and fixed a glare on him.

"Explain yourselves!" he barked roughly, stepping away from Kate and folding his hands behind his back as he did so.

The simple order was enough to spark a response from ET and evoke the appropriate humility. "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" he cried, snapping to a salute. "Can I talk to you in private, sir?"

"You'll speak in front of the X and do it quickly, ET."

"You don't want me to do that, sir!" ET promised gawkily. "I mean—"

"You're mistaken, ET. That is _exactly_ what I want you to do," Mike snapped. "Quickly, too."

"Respect, but… no you don't, sir!"

"_Now_, ET."

"But—! …Right you are, sir." ET coughed awkwardly at the look on Mike's face and nodded, drawing in a deep breath as he did so. "So… Sir, that ring you bought the other day? It's mine. I need to buy it back off you."

Mike glanced at Kate quickly, and seemed ready to dismiss her out of sight, but she was having none of it. "What ring?" she inquired sharply.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I was gambling with 2Dads, drunk of course," ET babbled, given an excuse to explain, "And I— He sold it, and— Jesus, _please_, sir: It was my _grandmother's _engagement ring and I'll pay you back for it, but—"

"ET, do you have any idea…" Mike cut in sternly, avoiding Kate's bids for eye contact as he glared straight ahead at ET.

"Yes, sir, I _know_ you're trying to propose to the X, but you can't give her that ring!" he cried. "My grandma said to give it to the one I love and the only reason I had it with me that night was because I wanted to give it to Nikki!"

"_What?_"

"ET—"

"Please, sir—"

"ET, can you even comprehend what you've just done?"

"Yes, I know, sir—"

"Do you know how long I've planned for this? How long I've waited?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but—"

"_Take the damned ring, ET!_"

"…Sir?"

"And get out of my sight!"

"Yes, sir! Come on, Nik— …Nik?" ET glanced to his side only to find her gone, and looking back at Mike with something like terror in his eyes, he was relieved to see her behind him, standing by Kate, who was… Good Lord, she was crying…

Mike seemed to realize this at the same time and turned to see Kate weeping silently in Nikki's arms. Heart sinking, he moved over to them and, sharing a sympathetic look with Nikki over her shoulder, gently picked up her hand. "Come on, Katie, I'll take you home."

"Mate, I'm sorry," ET called out as they left, flinching under Nikki's glare. "_Nik_…"

"You can take me home too, ET."

"But, Nik, it was for you—!"

"_No, ET_! It's the hardest thing to see the X cry, and I won't speak to you until you fix it," Nikki replied flatly. "You really _hurt_ her, ET… Now take me home."

The ride to the park, which had been light-hearted and suspenseful, was miserable on the return trip. Neither Kate nor Mike spoke and the blindfold lay abandoned on the dashboard between them. Kate, for her part, knew that she _should_ speak, but hardly knew what to say. Was it right to even reference his "proposal"? He hadn't asked her to marry him, but the ring _was_ for her… wasn't it? She couldn't very well ask!

Mike, on the other hand, was petrified by those tears he'd seen her cry at the park. Why had she cried? Was she mad at ET for interrupting (he could understand that— _he_ was _furious_), or mad at _him_…? But how could _he_ have known the ring he had bought from the jeweller had been ET's? What were the chances of that? And that he would want it _back_? …It was ridiculous! Yet… Even so, maybe it was for the best? Maybe the events at the park had saved him from a painful rejection? Maybe that was why she had cried— because she couldn't fathom how to tell him no?

As he glanced at her, however, he could be sure of only one thing: that these were _not_ the tears of happiness he had hoped for when he had driven her to the park that morning. And one way or another he had to fix that. Now, before she had a chance to get out of his car and run away. He _couldn't_ let her run away again. Not a second time… And yet the look on her half-turned face begged him not to confront her. She was too upset, too vulnerable. And although he wanted to put all of that aside and propose to her as he had originally intended to, if that wasn't what she wanted, who was he to try? Rather, as he pulled into her driveway, he barely mumbled a goodbye and while her momentary hesitation to leave gave him brief hope, it was short-lived. She got out of the car and walked inside without looking back.

And even as he pulled away, he knew he should be doing exactly the opposite.

It was eleven o'clock before Mike was drunk enough to return to his empty home, but the sight before him when he arrived was a sobering one. ET, sitting on his doorstep with his head in his hands, looking as pitiable as Mike had ever seen him.

"Jesus Christ, ET. Get up off the ground."

Jerking to his feet so quickly that his back clicked, ET winced and stepped aside to allow Mike to open the door. "I should have come to see you myself the first time," he admitted gruffly. "But I was embarrassed, and I didn't wanna have to explain why I ever had the ring with me on the ship that night. I mean, it would have been obvious… You right, sir?"

Waving ET into his living room bleakly Mike flopped back onto his couch with a rough sigh and shook his head. "ET, your intentions with the Nav were obvious enough even before I knew about the ring. Of course, if they'd been otherwise I would have called you up on it. You should have come to me."

"Yes, sir…"

"Now, what was the Nav doing at my house this morning? I assume you know."

"Ahh, yes, sir, but that's unimportant," ET promised gawkily, and surprisingly, Mike let it go. "Thing is… She won't agree to marry me until I fix this mess I made with you and the X, so I'd like to try and do that. If I can, sir. …Sir?"

"I don't really want to talk to you about this, ET— Excuse me." Mike shot to his feet the moment the phone started ringing. "…Yes?" he inquired of the caller all too eagerly.

"…_Mike?"_

"Geez, uh, hi, Sam."

"_You sound disappointed. Were you expecting someone else?"_

Catching ET's look, Mike mouthed 'my sister', and cleared his throat quietly. "Yeah, actually," he admitted, and Sam's small sigh on the other end of the line indicated that she understood.

"_What did Kate say when you asked her? …Mike?"_

"Yeah, I hear you. It's just, I've got company right now, Sam," said Mike, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Can I call you later?"

"_Don't bother. Just call her,"_ Sam replied, the grin evident in her tone. _"…And get rid of your 'company' first."_

"It's just ET—"

"—_Night, little brother."_

"But—!"

Hanging up the phone, Samantha Flynn smiled and shook her head before picking up the couple of mugs sitting on the counter in front of her and walking back into the living room, where she had Kate sitting, fiddling with the CD player, on her couch.

"Thanks, Sam," she acknowledged quietly as the younger woman pressed the hot drink into her hands. "I appreciate this."

"Of course, of course," Sam replied, waving off the thanks as she sat down next to Kate and crossed her legs up on the couch beneath her. "I'll sort my brother right out, don't you worry. Hmm… Say, I'm proud of you, Kate. Five years ago you'd have run away."

"Five years ago I _did_ run away," Kate sighed, leaning back into the cushions dejectedly. "I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Well good on you… Even if you never did tell me quite why you and my brother broke it off all those years ago— _Hey_, I'm not asking you to tell me," Sam chuckled as Kate opened her mouth in defense. "That's not the point anymore. Point is: my brother really loves you. Poor guy is smitten. Has been for years. Mum damn near gave him a spanking when he brought home that blonde chick—"

"Ursula," Kate supplied gravely, and Sam pulled a face.

"She was just another poor replacement for you," she said easily. "She never came close to winning his heart. Only reason he clung on was because of what it'd mean if he didn't, you know?"

"What it would have meant… A whole lot less drama," Kate suggested bitterly. "He never did let me get over him. He scrutinized ever person I dated, and flaunted his girls in front of me. Bastard…"

"Come on, Katie. Thank God he did, _right_?" Sam exclaimed, poking her shoulder playfully. "You were ready to just fade out of the picture—"

"It would have been easier—"

"He wouldn't have proposed to you today."

Suitably chastised, Kate found herself agreeing. "You're right… It was just hard."

Sam smiled sympathetically. "Well, it was no picnic for him either— nor any of us who had to watch him pining for you." She laughed. "But that's all over now. You're going to tell him 'yes', right?"

"What?"

"Tell him 'yes'?" Sam repeated, quirking an eyebrow slightly. "You're gonna marry him?"

"He hasn't _asked_ me, Sam," Kate protested, which only caused Sam to giggle more.

"He's asked that mirror over there on your behalf enough times," she promised. "But honestly, you know Mike— you're better off proposing to _him_!" Again, she laughed at the look on Kate's face. "Kate, he loves you. It's just bad luck this happened, you'll see."

Sighing, Kate put her mug down on the coffee table in front of her. "Thanks for having me in," she said, but if she thought she was leaving so easily, she was wrong.

"Now just hang on, Kate," Sam protested, leaning forward and grabbing her hand to hold her back on the couch. "You're not going anywhere if it's not to jump my brother's bones right this instant! Sad souls shouldn't be alone, you know."

"Sam, if you think—"

"I don't," Sam assured her, "But Jess'll want a play when she comes down and sees you here, and it's always nice to have company when you're feeling glum."

"I'm not—"

"Kate McGregor, I am _not_ taking no for an answer!" Sam chastised her; much in the way she might her daughter, Jessica. "Come on, I made up the guest bedroom the minute you called and said you wanted a chat, and James is already grocery shopping under the impression that he's doing dinner for four tonight, so don't bother complaining!"

Just that moment, as though to seal the deal, Jessica Flynn came bounding down the stairs in all her piggy-tailed four-year-old glory and launched herself into Kate's lap with a cry of "_Auntie Katie!"_

With the wind knocked completely out of her, it was all Kate could do to briefly signal her defeat over the child's shoulder, and Sam grinned. She had expected no less.

"Michael Flynn, you know better than to call during dinner," Sam chastised as she checked the caller ID and picked up her phone (throwing a cheeky grin at Kate across the dinner table as she did so). "It had better be important."

"_She's not answering her phone at home and her mobile is off—"_

"No, I don't expect she _is_ answering her home phone, Michael dear, seeing as she's right here having dinner with us— or trying to. Can't you call back later? This dinner is late enough as it is and Jessie needs to get to bed…"

"_She's there?" _Mike repeated incredulously, causing Sam to drop her annoyed act and giggle light-heartedly.

"Yes, Michael, right here and _trying_ to eat, as I said. Call back in 30."

"_Sam, pass her the phone now. I need to talk to her," _Mike insisted loud enough that Kate could hear it from where she stood next to Sam.

"Perhaps you'd better," she suggested, but Sam declined, saying, "No, let's have us our dinner first… _30 minutes, Michael. Ta!"_

"Was that really fair?" asked Sam's husband, James, as his wife ruthlessly hung up on his love-struck brother-in-law. "Poor guy's probably wetting himself."

"I'll call him back," Kate suggested, but Sam stopped her.

"Let him sweat for a minute and eat up," she insisted. "James has gone to a lot of trouble to make this!"

Here, James began to protest, but was cut off by Sam's glare. However, far from being worried, Kate laughed at the exchange.

"All right, I'll call him after dinner and see what's to be done," she decided, smiling. "Thanks for everything, Sam."

"…Hey, Auntie Katie," Jessica piped up the moment she sensed a slight slowing down in the conversation.

"Yes, Jess?"

"Is it true you and Uncle Mike are getting married?"

Kate blanched at the plainly stated question and began to falter. "I don't know, Jess. Maybe."

"You should ask him if you are," Jess instructed her. "That way you'll have lots of time to get a pretty dress. Or actually two! Because I'll need one too, right, mum?" She grinned widely at this. "Uncle Mike said if you got married I could be a flower girl!"

"Sure you can," Kate agreed with a weak smile. "I'll ask him right after dinner."

"I'll drive you," James offered, and at her confused look, he grinned cheekily and glanced at his wife. "From what I've heard the proposal thus far has been rather novel, but if it turns out anything like the night I proposed to Sammy, it's not something you'll be wanting to do over the phone!"

At this he and Sam laughed jovially, and Jess laughed too, even though she didn't understand one bit of the implications of her father's joke. For her part, Kate blushed brightly, and was only too glad to get out of the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

Looking through the peephole however, her blush only deepened at seeing Mike's anxious face and, not before glancing back toward the closed kitchen door she let him in.

"Uh, hi," he greeted her awkwardly, the relief at seeing her just as plain as, if not plainer than, his evident anxiety. "I'm glad you're… I mean, of course you are, but…" He coughed here and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about how that went earlier, but I've been talking to ET and if you'll take a drive with me I think I can explain what happened."

Kate smiled at him reassuringly and briefly grasped his hand and ran a thumb over his palm before dropping it again. "Let me just tell Sam and James that I'm going," she said gently, and then left him to poke her head into the kitchen.

"Good luck, Katie," Sam told her with a wink over Kate's shoulder at Mike. "Be good to her, bro."

Placing a protective hand on Kate's hip, he promised he would and, after a quick greeting to his little niece, he lead Kate out to the car and let her in.

"No blindfold this time?" she teased good-naturedly, causing Mike to lean over the gearshift toward her and do just that with the strip of fabric that still lay on the dashboard. "…I hate to break it to you, Mike. But we've done this— I already know where we're going."

"Not like this," Mike promised and Kate could hear the smile in his tone, causing her heart to flutter briefly. "I've had a good few hours to revise my plan, you see."

"Have you now?" she deliberated, almost breathlessly as he started the car, and, knowing his intentions this time, the drive was all the more suspenseful, terrifying. How would he ask? Would he? How would she respond? What about the ring? Would he even…? Did he even _have_ the ring…?

"We're here."

"Not so soon," Kate protested suspiciously, jumping as the driver's side door opened and then slammed closed. Moments later she heard her own door opening, followed by a cool draft of air, and she sought out Mike's hand, which he was only too happy to give her.

"That's right," Mike agreed, squeezing her hand briefly. "Watch your step."

"…It's cold."

"You can have my jacket."

Shivering, Kate agreed and pulled herself closer to Mike as they walked. Not long after, they stopped and she heard the jingling of keys, but just as soon as they'd gone inside, they were out again and Kate was still blindfolded.

"Mike…?"

When her feet hit sand it made sense, and Mike let go of her hand briefly to lift her into a dinghy apparently left waiting on the shoreline.

"Boats and blindfolds, Mike?" Kate sighed skeptically. "Are you sure you don't want to rethink that?"

"I could give you seasick pills," Mike repeated the familiar line, "But they wouldn't work."

"Ha ha…"

Grinning, Mike began to rev up the engine and Kate shifted herself to lean comfortably and stably against his legs.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they began to move, but Mike only chuckled in response.

"You'll see," he said, and Kate smiled to herself, secretly delighted by the cliché. "…I suppose you've gathered the basic gist of the story," he went on a few minutes later, raising his voice over the stuttering engine of the dinghy. "ET had meant to give his grandmother's ring to the Nav, but, after a night of drinking with the boys, managed to gamble it away at the last minute. 2Dads, being the ass he is, promptly sold it, and by the time ET had tracked it down, I had bought it for you."

Heart shuddering in her chest, Kate tried to turn and reached for her blindfold, but Mike stopped her with a gentle hand on her wrist.

"Soon," he promised, ignoring the knit of her brows above the fabric. "...I was looking for a present for your birthday. I wanted to celebrate before we got called back out to sea— that was supposed to be today. Of course, if I'm honest, I'd been looking at a display of necklaces when I saw it, completely by chance, and… Well, I didn't care how long it took me to work up the courage to do it, when I proposed, I knew I wanted it to be that ring. So I bought it on an impulse. I meant to get something else for your birthday, but then we were crash sailed, and when we got back…"

"It was a close call on that boarding," Kate acknowledged quietly, understanding without him having to tell her what he meant.

"I was afraid I'd lose you," he admitted, squeezing her shoulder briefly. "I wanted— I _want_… Ah. We're here."

Blushing, Kate reached for the blindfold again, but, even as he slowed the dinghy and they rocked up onto the shore, he kept her from undoing it.

"I'll _tell you_ when you can take it off," he told her firmly, laughing as she stumbled onto the sand, and they sat together, he looking out at the slowly brightening horizon, and she still blinded by the thick black fabric that covered her eyes.

"But we've stopped—"

"You think I don't know that we've stopped, Katie?"

Kate paused mid-whine and sighed, scooping her ponytail over her shoulder before lying back on the sand blindly. "Wake me up when you grow a spine," she joked fondly and Mike moved his hand over hers in the sand with a laugh.

"Give it five minutes," he promised, winking unbeknownst to her. "Won't be much longer than that."

"I suppose I've waited so many years already that I can manage five minutes now," Kate acquiesced, tracing swirls in the damp sand with her free hand, and though she would never admit it, her heart was beating more quickly than was comfortable as it was.

"…You know that I love you, don't you?"

Kate smiled at the out of the blue confession. "Of course I do," she replied, squeezing his hand gently. "If I thought otherwise I wouldn't be here waiting passively for you to—"

"Can't you just pretend you don't know?" Mike cut in.

"Don't know what?" Kate replied, smirking. "That you're waiting for the sun to rise before you—"

"Shh…" Mike hushed, dropping her hand and moving to sit behind her slowly, so as not to startle her as he pushed her shoulders up into a sitting position and pulled her back into his lap.

Kate smiled and felt her heart begin to flutter in anticipation as Mike's fingers brushed her neck gently and toyed with the tie of her blindfold. "Mi—"

"Shh," Mike repeated firmly but quietly, and Kate acquiesced, allowing him to play a little longer. "Not long now…"

Smiling wider, Kate couldn't help but laugh at his antics, and his stubborn determination to do the cliché proposal at sunrise, even though he knew his surprise had been thwarted. "Mike—"

"Shh…" Mike murmured into her hair, and now he curled his fingers slowly around the blindfold tie, kissing her neck briefly as he let it fall.

"_Surprise! Happy Birthday, Kate!"_

Kate's heart skipped a beat and she almost cricked her neck as she turned to glance at Mike accusingly. "Mike! What on earth—?"

Before her stood the entire crew of the Hammersley, some up to their knees in water, holding all manner of colourful party decorations, and she glared at Mike as he stood and pulled her to her feet.

"What is this?" she protested. "I thought—!"

"—But you know I gave the ring back to ET," Mike reminded her, grinning, "So how could this be anything but an innocent birthday party?"

Kate blushed thoroughly at her own presumptuousness as the crew laughed and cheered in turn. "Well, I—"

"_How_," Mike continued brightly, "Could I ever have managed to go out and find you something as amazing as _this_ in the mere hours since I left you?"

Here Kate sucked in a deep breath as Mike produced an even more gorgeous ring and winked charmingly at her. "Why, that would have been impossible," he joked.

"Jesus Christ, Mike," Kate whispered, glancing around as the men wolf-whistled, catching Nikki's bright eyes as she did so.

"I mean, I may have had some help…" he admitted, following her gaze to the ship's Nav. "But _essentially_… _Well_? Did I do a good job?"

Lip quirking slightly, Kate shook her head in bemusement. "Depends on the occasion," she suggested slowly. "I mean, it's not really an appropriate birthday present…"

Taking the hint, Mike grinned. "Is it not?" he sighed, as though he had no idea, and then he fell to one knee in the damp sand— a move that encouraged even more the men's yells and wolf whistles. "Do you reckon it'd serve any better as an engagement ring?"

To this, Kate offered some mock-serious thought and eventually smiled.

"It's better than nothing," she acquiesced, allowing him to slip the treasure onto her ring finger. "After all these years, though, so's most anything…"

"You wound me," Mike sighed, rising to his feet and kissing her cheek lightly. "I tried _so _hard."

Kate smiled at that, and lifted her bejewelled hand to turn his face toward hers and kiss his mouth softly. "Thank you, Mike."

He grinned too. "So, uh, will you marry me?" he asked, nudging her nose with his gently, and she smiled at the tender offer.

"Of course."

_Mike,_

_Listen, mate. I've a pretty big problem. See, that ring you bought recently from Mr Gerard's shop actually belongs to me. Long story but 2Dads got his hands on it, which of course is how Mr Gerard got it, given 2Dads' tendency to hock anything with a mite more value than a shoelace, and… well, the thing is: I've been meaning to give that ring to someone pretty damn special, which is why I had it with me in the first place, so if you could please forgive me for being an ass and agree to sell me back the ring, I've the money here._

_Anyway, I hope it all goes well for you and that special lady of yours. I mean, of course I know none of the particulars but she _must_ be pretty special, right? You'd hardly settle for less. Be good to her, mate._

_ET_

_P.S. Break it gently to the X, won't you? I know you'll think this is rubbish, but she's always had a bit of a thing for you._

_P.P.S. Better yet… I still think you and the X would make a great couple!_


End file.
